UPND ‘enjoying’ same graft it condemned
By Tony Nkhoma
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) is now swimming in the same corruption it strongly condemned and promised to fight while in the opposition, a former member of Parliament has said.
Former Kasenengwa member of Member of Parliament Sensio Banda said the UPND government had broken the trust of Zambians by failing to act on the high corruption levels and resorting to issuing mere statements and holding press briefings.
He said in an interview with The Mast at the weekend the mechanisms UPND had promised to fix ha been ignored, or worse, manipulated to serve the same corrupt interests it had once condemned.
“These are not merely systemic challenges. They are broken promises,” Banda said.
He said despite the alarming corruption which had been noticed even by the donor community, the UPND’s response had often been limited to press statements or delayed calls for investigations.
“The failure by the UPND to prosecute their own corrupt officials, the recycling of questionable officials and the quiet reinstatement of suspended managers point to a lack of political will,” Banda said
He said Zambians were not demanding miracles but honesty, action and accountability.
“The public is beginning to feel that these are not the actions of a government that is serious about ending corruption, but rather one trying to manage the headlines,” Banda said.
He said it had been four years since UPND was elected into office and it could no longer hide behind the legacy of the Patriotic Front (PF).
“Despite Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s ‘no sacred cows’ rhetoric, most exposed corruption cases have led to suspensions without convictions, investigations without prosecutions and media silence instead of transparency,” Banda said
He noted that continued mismanagement of the health sector under the UPND was not just a governance issue but a betrayal of public trust and a direct threat to the lives of the poor.
“The United States ambassador to Zambia’s warning that corruption may jeopardise donor funding [such as PEPFAR and Global Fund programmes] are not just diplomatic posturing. They are signals of collapsing confidence in Zambia’s governance,” Banda said.
